Dragonfly obelisk
Call it a handstand if you like. Entomologists refer to this upright dragonfly pose as the obelisk posture. Online articles that I’ve read list two purposes: to regulate body temperature when in bright sunlight and, for males, to assert dominance. Notice how the amber patch on this dragonfly’s wing acted like stained glass and let sunlight transmit that color to part of the insect’s body.
I took this picture on August 7th when we stopped in Charlotte,
North Carolina, to visit a friend we hadn’t seen in a couple of decades.
© 2019 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Incredibly beautiful dragonfly!
Ms. Liz
September 5, 2019 at 5:33 AM
And it obligingly stayed put as I closed in to take a bunch of pictures.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 5:37 AM
Handstand or obelisk, it is perfectly posed for a picture.
Gallivanta
September 5, 2019 at 5:40 AM
Just think of the disaster if it and I had switched roles.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 5:46 AM
It would not have been a pretty sight.
Gallivanta
September 5, 2019 at 7:39 AM
Speaking of sights, I wonder how the world looks to a dragonfly, given that each of its eyes has as many as 30,000 facets.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 11:45 AM
Delightful, I would say.
Gallivanta
September 5, 2019 at 8:11 PM
You’re insightful in saying delightful.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 10:09 PM
I love the way that this male Blue Dasher seems to be grinning at you, like a little kid saying, “Watch this.”
Mike Powell
September 5, 2019 at 6:37 AM
And I like the way you identified the dragonfly. Thanks. If it could be said that the blue dasher was showing off, it could also be said that once I saw it through the kitchen window I dashed out to my car to get my camera and show off what I could do with a macro lens to portray the dragonfly.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 6:46 AM
What a poser!! I love the dragons and damsels this time of year… they’re everywhere!
Littlesundog
September 5, 2019 at 6:47 AM
And a poser who knew how to hold a pose, fortunately for me.
I’ve gone out to take pictures three times since returning from the trip, and I can’t say I’ve noticed an unusual number of dragonflies and damselflies over here. Do you know why they’re more abundant in your area?
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 7:02 AM
I have no idea why we have so many this year, but we have not been able to mow the orchard acres and that is where I see most of them. Perhaps they like the tall prairie grasses and the abundant wetlands plants around the slough.
Littlesundog
September 5, 2019 at 5:26 PM
That certainly seems like a plausible explanation.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 6:23 PM
Fascinating shot, Steve! Your dragonfly is ready to be entered in the gymnastics team.
Peter Klopp
September 5, 2019 at 8:14 AM
Yes, dragonflies can outdo us in acrobatics any day, and some of them do compete against one another.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 8:37 AM
Terrific shot, Bug Yoga
Robert Parker
September 5, 2019 at 9:26 AM
I just went back to check my archive and found that every picture I took shows the dragonfly in the obelisk posture. That uniformity doesn’t bug me at all.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 10:10 AM
Gorgeous shot! What a beauty.
Leya
September 5, 2019 at 9:29 AM
Thanks. I did well on this one.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 10:14 AM
You always do well.
Leya
September 6, 2019 at 7:40 AM
Well, hardly always. I don’t show the many failures.
Steve Schwartzman
September 6, 2019 at 7:48 AM
Who does?
Leya
September 6, 2019 at 8:20 AM
On the internet I see plenty of photographs that I would never post.
Steve Schwartzman
September 6, 2019 at 11:27 AM
😀
Leya
September 6, 2019 at 1:57 PM
Two show offs on a late summer day. Both did well.
Michael Scandling
September 5, 2019 at 10:10 AM
Following the incline of the dragonfly’s abdomen, I’m inclined to agree with you.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 10:18 AM
Dragonfly yoga. 🙂
Jane Lurie
September 5, 2019 at 11:27 AM
You’re the second commenter to see this as yoga.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 11:38 AM
My favorite dragonfly pose and it’s against a sweet background.
Steve Gingold
September 5, 2019 at 6:07 PM
We were almost ready to have lunch at our friend’s house when I spotted the dragonfly outside and went for my camera and macro lens. The nearest objects in the background were far away, as you could tell.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 6:28 PM
Outstanding image!!
norasphotos4u
September 5, 2019 at 9:56 PM
The subject being upstanding made the image outstanding.
Steve Schwartzman
September 5, 2019 at 10:11 PM
Amazing, Steve. I wonder if it might be able to master a headstand, too. 😊
tanjabrittonwriter
September 5, 2019 at 11:04 PM
Now that really would be something. I just did a search for “dragonfly headstand” and, as I expected would happen, the closest that any of the hits came to that was the obelisk posture.
Steve Schwartzman
September 6, 2019 at 4:58 AM
Keep your eyes open and your camera ready–one never knows!
tanjabrittonwriter
September 7, 2019 at 6:35 PM
“Eyes open and camera ready” describes me at least some of the time. I usually don’t know what will come my way, but something always does.
Steve Schwartzman
September 7, 2019 at 7:50 PM
I feel the same way, Steve. Happy “hunting.”
tanjabrittonwriter
September 7, 2019 at 9:39 PM
I’m “loaded for bear,” as they say, except the bear is normally a wildflower.
Steve Schwartzman
September 8, 2019 at 6:10 AM
Yesterday morning, the bear was a black bear in our back yard, but it moved too quickly to be captured by camera!
tanjabrittonwriter
September 8, 2019 at 5:26 PM
I take it you were able to bear the disappointment of not getting any pictures.
Steve Schwartzman
September 8, 2019 at 6:43 PM
I had no choice but to bear it, Steve. 🐻
tanjabrittonwriter
September 8, 2019 at 10:36 PM
That’s a beary good attitude.
Steve Schwartzman
September 9, 2019 at 6:07 AM
Perfect shot and good story.
harrienijland
September 6, 2019 at 12:30 AM
Sometimes dragonflies stay put and let me get close enough for a good picture. This was one of those times.
Steve Schwartzman
September 6, 2019 at 5:24 AM
This is a beautiful dragonfly, with its turquoise eye and blue abdomen. And this shot! Gorgeous, right down to the stained glass effect you mention.
melissabluefineart
September 6, 2019 at 8:15 AM
In all the dragonfly pictures I’ve taken over the past two decades, I don’t remember ever noticing the stained-glass effect. That’s what made this portrait special for me.
Steve Schwartzman
September 6, 2019 at 9:04 AM
Yes, same here. I’ve taken dozens, myself, and seldom come up with something as striking as this one.
melissabluefineart
September 8, 2019 at 8:30 AM
One advantage of the obelisk posture is that the dragonflies remain still, making photos much easier. I’ve usually caught them as silhouettes; adding that stained glass effect made this photo special.
As you know, species like the Halloween pennant tend to cling to the tops of plants with their abdomens extended horizontally. Now I’m imagining a photo with two dragonflies: one resting vertically, the other horizontally. Whether I’ll ever see that, I don’t know, but it will be fun to watch for it.
Dragonflies can be very much a now you see them, now you don’t phenomenon. Last week, dragonflies were everywhere here, from ground level to well into the air. They were so thick that you could watch dozens while stopped for a red light. After two days, they disappeared. It probably was a hatch, although the Houston NWS radar has picked up migratory dragonflies in the past.
shoreacres
September 7, 2019 at 6:52 AM
The obelisk posture gave me the advantage of stillness, as you said. It also meant that from my lower position I’d be able to get only a small portion of the dragonfly in focus. Naturally I went for the face and that huge compound eye. In this blog-sized version of the photograph you can’t see the eye facets that the full-size image resolves.
What an informative article you linked to. Like presumably almost every other non-entomologist, I had no idea that some dragonflies migrate. The article speculates that migrating birds might be eating some of the migrating dragonflies, and I’ll add that those prey dragonflies might in their turn be preying on migrating butterflies.
Steve Schwartzman
September 7, 2019 at 7:19 AM
I happened to see a grackle catch a dragonfly in mid-air last week. It was quite a sight, watching the bird fly off with the dragonfly hanging out of its beak. Not everyone has such benefits at their work!
shoreacres
September 7, 2019 at 7:26 AM
That would have made a worthy photograph, however difficult to pull off.
Steve Schwartzman
September 7, 2019 at 7:50 AM
Magnificent photo that allows me to see this creature in detail.
artsofmay
September 7, 2019 at 7:51 AM
I mentioned to a previous commenter that the full-size photograph, which is many times larger than the blog version shown here, reveals finer details, like the facets in the compound eye.
Steve Schwartzman
September 7, 2019 at 8:15 AM
Wow!
artsofmay
September 7, 2019 at 8:35 AM
That’s the result of a good macro lens and a camera with a large sensor.
Steve Schwartzman
September 7, 2019 at 12:23 PM
Great Image Steve! Enjoyed seeing it!
Reed Andariese
September 7, 2019 at 9:08 AM
Just as I was happy to notice it.
Steve Schwartzman
September 7, 2019 at 12:36 PM
Wonderful! What a handsome dragonfly 🙂
Julie@frogpondfarm
September 9, 2019 at 7:21 PM
I’d say he takes after the photographer except I can’t do a handstand.
Steve Schwartzman
September 9, 2019 at 7:23 PM
Ha ha bet you could!
Julie@frogpondfarm
September 9, 2019 at 9:44 PM
I don’t think it would be a pretty sight.
Steve Schwartzman
September 9, 2019 at 9:49 PM